A place for a tired old woman to try to figure things out so that the world makes a bit of sense.

Saturday, May 04, 2013

Obama's Plan B

(Editorial cartoon by Joel Pett and featured at McClatchy DC. Click on image to enlarge and then return.)

I've gotten used to the war on women being waged by the GOP. That said, I wasn't quite prepared for the same battle being waged by a Democrat, especially the one occupying the White House.

Women's rights groups have expressed disappointment with the Obama administration's decision to maintain age restrictions on the drug.

"While the President has been a champion for women, he's behind the curve when it comes to Plan B," read a statement from Nita Chaudhary, of the organization Ultraviolet. "We need him to catch up. Plan B should be available over-the-counter to women of all ages. It's the right thing to do."

Plan B One-Step is just one brand of emergency birth control that uses the synthetic hormone levonorgestrel to prevent pregnancy by blocking ovulation and impeding the mobility of sperm. It does not cause an abortion in women who are already pregnant, nor does it harm a developing fetus.

Reproductive rights groups have urged the Food and Drug Administration for more than a decade to make the drug available to all consumers without a prescription. As a result of litigation, U.S. District Judge Edward Korman of New York ordered that all levonorgestrel-based emergency birth control drugs be made available to all consumers over the counter by Monday.

In a harshly worded ruling, Korman said the decision to maintain age restrictions on the drug was "arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable," and placed blame on Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, as well as pressure from two White House administrations.

The Department of Justice announced Wednesday that it was seeking to overturn Korman's order in the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals. U.S. attorneys have also asked that the judge's order be stayed, pending resolution of the appeal. [Emphasis added]

The FDA had recommended the drug be made available over the counter without restriction as safe and effective. It was the HHS Secretary, presumably with at least the approval of President Obama, perhaps at his direction, who added the age limit of 15. Since then, President Obama has continued to maintain that he is quite comfortable with the age limit. That's why his Department of Justice is appealing the District Court ruling.

The fact of the matter is that the age limit is indeed "arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable." Girls can become pregnant before 15. Some girls as young as 11 are fertile and are targets for pedophiles. Some perhaps not clear on sexual intimacy are already experimenting before age 15. What about them? They should be forced to bear children they cannot possibly raise adequately?

Why is it that President Obama's DOJ has the money and the staffing to attack such things as unrestricted Plan B and medical marijuana, but can't find the time or need for attacking such things as bank fraud? Quite a tell, don't you think?